During the last few days I've been off work due to a medical problem. I
have had several opportunities to ride crosstown bus line 44-0'Shaughnessy
recently. This is one of only two lines on Muni that rated an A during
last year's Rescue Muni service rating. In my opinion, this line now rates
an "F".
Cases in point:
Wednesday, January 20: Arrived at 6th Avenue & Geary s/b stop at 11:35am.
A bus is due to leave the California & 7th Avenue terminal at that time. A
n/b bus passed the location at about that time, but there was no southbound
bus. That same northbound bus was due to leave the terminal at 11:50am.
It did not show up. Finally, the 12:05pm bus arrived--a 45-minute headway
on what is supposed to be a 15-minute headway. As the 12:05 arrived, a bus
from the north terminal was deadheading (probably to Glen Park for
schedule). Basically it took me 50 minutes to get from Kaiser Hospital to
my home at Fulton & 8th Avenue.
Wednesday, January 20: Arrived at 6th Avenue & Geary s/b stop at about
5:35pm. A large crowd is waiting. Service is supposed to be about every
10 minutes or less at this time. At 5:50pm, the first northbound bus
appears. The driver is called names by one irate (and racist) waiting
passenger. He makes as quick a turnaround at 7th & Cal as he can. The
crowd boards. Another coach is a block behind (this one must have
deadheaded from a downtown location to 7th & Cal--some buses are scheduled
to do this.
Tuesday, January 26: Arrived at 6th Avenue & Geary s/b stop at about
11:50am--the time a bus is supposed to arrive. No one waiting--a bad sign,
indicating that a run's headway was adjusted to leave the terminal earlier
than usual. I estimated that that coach was given a 7 1/2-minute moveup by
Central Control or an inspector. I started walking home. Not a single bus
in either direction passed during my 12-minute walk.
Tuesday, January 26: Arrived at (guess where?--yup, 6th & Geary) about
4:45pm. Large crowd waiting. After 10 minutes, one northbound bus
arrives, followed by another one 2 minutes later. I started walking.
Between Balboa and Cabrillo, the first bus has arrived at Geary. A 3rd n/b
bus passes me, but I beat the first bus home.
Lest you think all is bleak on the erstwhile A-rated 44, I have had some
great connections, too. Saturday, January 23 I had a 1-minute wait at
Fulton to go south at 1:35pm, with an instant transfer to the N at Irving
Street. Total time from Fulton & 8th to Church & Duboce: 22 minutes. Then
on Sunday, January 24, a return early afternoon trip from Church to Fulton
yielded only a 2-minute wait at 9th & Irving and another overall 22-minute
journey.
BUT: Nighttime service is often spotty. Buses don't connect with
43-Masonic buses on timed transfers. Often, there are two or even three
buses missing at night after 7:00pm (there are supposed to be 5 on the
line). This is more a problem with the n/b 43, which has insufficient
running time from Geneva & Munich terminal to Forest Hill Station. But
there are times when the 44 just pulls off as the 43 arrives.
I attribute the current 44-Line problems to the following:
1. The cold weather. Coaches have more propensity to be unable to
start up once the engine is shut down. 44-Line coaches are required to
shut off their engines at 7th & Cal.
2. Missed/missing midday and swing-shift reliefs at 3rd & Palou.
I chalk this one up to indifference on the part of Woods Division
dispatchers filling 44 line runs. IMO, division dispatchers should know if
problems filling runs result in consecutive headways on lines within their
jurisdiction. They don't, but I suspect they wouldn't care even if they
did know.
3. The current General Signup change. Since the problems I
experienced occurred both before and after the effective date of the new
signup (Jan. 23), I can only conclude that Muni still has a massive
manpower shortage.
Peter Ehrlich
F-Line Operator
Green Light Rail Division
<norcalrr@sprynet.com>